A high-profile new employee in the Texas comptroller’s office won’t focus on revenue estimates or tax collection. Robert Gulley will, however, be looking at monarch butterfly migration patterns and the decline of freshwater mussels.
Neena Satija
Neena Satija worked at the Tribune from 2013 to 2019. She was an investigative reporter and radio producer for the Tribune and Reveal, a public radio program from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Previously, she was the environment reporter at the Tribune. A native of the Washington, D.C. area, she graduated from Yale University in 2011, and then worked for the New Haven Independent, the Connecticut Mirror, and WNPR/Connecticut Public Radio. She has also been a regular contributor to National Public Radio. As an East Coast transplant she is particularly thrilled with Austin tacos and warm weather.
Posted in
Undrinkable
A Colonia Built on Broken Promises of Clean Water
Safe running water remains out of reach for the residents of Las Pampas. The residents of this remote West Texas colonia are forced to haul water from miles away. This is part of our five-story Undrinkable series on border communities that lack reliable, clean water.
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Undrinkable
Politics Stymied Village’s Plan to Secure Safe Water
Researchers have found that the water supply in Vinton is making people sick, but local politics have gotten in the way of a solution to connect to nearby El Paso’s utilities. This is part two of our five-story Undrinkable series on border communities that lack reliable, clean water.
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Undrinkable
Along the Texas Border, a Third-World Problem
Reliable access to clean drinking water is not a reality for tens of thousands of Texans living along the Mexican border, despite a multibillion-dollar effort that has spanned decades. Those left behind face third-world conditions and grave health risks.
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Energy
Houston Dry Cleaner at Center of Pollution Enforcement Debate
A dry cleaner tucked in one of Houston’s most expensive neighborhoods has become the epicenter of a contentious debate over the enforcement of Texas’ environmental laws.
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Energy
At Hearing, Climate Change Called a “Threat Multiplier”
A Democratic state lawmaker on Monday kicked off efforts to force a discussion about climate change in Texas, but he faces an uphill battle in a state where most Republican leaders don’t believe it is a problem.
Posted inState Government
Across State Government, Signs of Wear and Tear, Neglect Are Everywhere
After years of budget cuts, raids on dedicated funding and deferred maintenance, rats, bats, leaking roofs and audible bathroom sounds are the new normal in state government.
Posted inState Government
Ag Commissioner Says Consumers “Screwed”
The Texas Department of Agriculture is supposed to ensure consumers aren’t getting ripped off by fuel pumps, retail scanners or other measuring devices. But the agency is so cash-strapped that consumers are getting “screwed” due to a lack of oversight, the agency’s new commissioner says.
Posted inState Government
A Texas-Sourced Push to Reauthorize Ex-Im Bank
Also, a roundup of notable legislative filing activity, and it was Blue Bell day at the Capitol.
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Politics
Conservative Lawmakers Target United Nations
In the latest effort by conservatives to fight what they see as overreach by the United Nations, two Texas Republican lawmakers have filed legislation aimed at a nonbinding plan for sustainable development that the United States and more than 100 other countries signed in 1992.